"The fall in the price of oil, essentially as a result of the world economic cooling, predicts a reduction in Angola's net international reserves," which will have the consequences of a rise in the exchange rate and a high risk of an increase in the inflation rate, "culminating in an inevitable increase in the level of public debt," revealed an analysis released this Monday on the CMC website.
The CMC, which recently discussed the economic impact of the coronavirus, stressed that "the fact that entire regions are quarantined because of the Covid-19 is severely shaking the Chinese economy" and affecting suppliers inside and outside China, which is the epicentre of the epidemic that currently hits about a hundred countries.
The body responsible for monitoring markets estimates that the current scenario will lead not only to a reduction in production but also in global consumption of various goods and services.
"The widespread panic due to the fear of contagion is also strongly affecting global tourism and cooling the economy as a whole, with negative impacts on the price of oil," he added.
China is the world's largest exporter of goods and services (2.50 billion dollars), has the second highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the world and is the second largest consumer of fuel, with 13 to 15 percent of the world's share, equivalent to around 14 million barrels per day.
It is also Angola's main trading partner, with sales from China to Angola representing 13.3 percent of total imports, while oil sales to the Asian giant are worth almost 70 percent of the total.
The first case of Covid-19 was reported on 31 December 2019 in China, with Wuhan being the major epicentre of this pandemic. "The city of 10 million inhabitants is an important economic, commercial, financial, technological and educational centre with more than 500 foreign companies, including 54 Japanese, 44 American and 40 European companies," said the CMC.
Since the Covid-19 epidemic began, 110,564 cases of infection have been recorded in about 100 countries and territories, and more than 3,800 people have died.
